That was the message Schurr coach Dave Ramos repeated over and over to his team before its game against visiting Whittier.While the Spartans didn’t commit very many in the early going, the Spartans did have two first-half turnovers that resulted in points for the Cardinals, which led by more than four touchdowns at halftime.

Thanks to a three-touchdown, 264-yard rushing yards performance by sophomore running back Jonathan Arceneaux, Whittier breezed by Schurr 57-14 in both teams’ final nonleague game.

For Cardinals coach Visko Ancich, establishing itself at the line of scrimmage was a major point of emphasis for the team. After Whittier finished with 316 rushing yards against Schurr, it’s safe to say that the mission was accomplished.

“We put a lot of time in the sled this week because we felt that a couple weeks ago our lineman didn’t establish the line of scrimmage and that’s really been our focus the last couple of weeks,” Ancich said.

That game that Ancich pointed out was a 49-14 loss against San Dimas on the road two weeks ago. While the Cardinals (4-1) struggled to control the line of scrimmage against San Dimas, the task wasn’t as difficult against a young Schurr team.

Just three plays into the contest, it became clear that the Spartans (1-4) were going to have their hands full trying to limit the 5-foot-9 speedy Arceneaux. On third-and-3 from Schurr’s 37-yard line, Arceneaux blistered through the middle of the Spartans’ defense for a 37-yard touchdown.

Things didn’t get any better for Schurr following the game’s opening score. On the ensuing possession, sophomore quarterback Nathaniel Palacios took a sack on fourth-and-5, giving the Cardinals possession from their own 15 yard line.

Then, Arceneaux showed off his big play ability, cranking out an 80-yard run on the drive’s first play. Two plays later, Steven Dobine finished off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown, giving Whittier a quick 14-0 lead with 3:51 to go in the first.

The hits continued to fall for Schurr after that. Again, the Spartans were driving inside Whittier’s 20-yard line and again, their drive ended with zero points on the board. Palacios’ pass into the end zone was intercepted by junior Vincent Parra at Whittier’s 1-yard line, giving the ball back to a rolling offense.

“We lined up in the wrong formation,” Ramos said. “We tried to fix it and stuff and then we ended up throwing the ball where we should of just ran it in and try to get something that way. It’s just a learning process.”

On the next play, Arceneaux struck again, busting out a 97-yard run, which set up his second score of the night from two yards out. With 11:55 to go in the second, Whittier extended its lead to three touchdowns.

“(Arceneaux’s) definitely got some great talent and work ethic but I think it’s a team effort,” Ancich said. “If we start saying that we’re going to give him the ball every snap team’s are going to catch on to that. We’ve got a fantastic offense that has a bunch of guys that can make plays and you saw it tonight.”

Following another three-and-out, Whittier showed that it could move the ball through the air too. Junior quarterback JC Lopez hit wide receiver Angel Ruiz on quick slant route, and the 6-foot-0 senior took care of the rest, taking it all the way for a 47-yard score, extending the Cardinals’ lead to 28-0 with 7:56 to go in the second. Schurr did manage to get on the board with 3:13 remaining in the period, thanks to running back Isaiah Contreras’ 21-yard rushing touchdown.

However, the Cardinals managed to answer back thanks to a 1-yard touchdown by middle linebacker Mark Tolmachoff on a fumble recovery inside Schurr’s 1-yard line. Whittier went for a pass and hit Tolmachoff to convert the 2-point attempt, giving the Cardinals a 36-7 lead going into the half.

Although Schurr managed to score a quick touchdown on the second half’s opening drive, it didn’t have a realistic shot of continuing to put points on the board and slow down Whittier’s attack. The Cardinals wound up outscoring the Spartans 21-7 to give themselves a solid two-game winning streak going into Del Rio League play.

For Schurr, Contreras finished with a pair of touchdowns and 178 yards on 28 carries. Palacios completed 10 of his 25 attempts for 121 yards. He also threw a pair of interceptions.

Lopez completed six of his 12 pass attempts for 154 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tomlachoff and Ruiz both chipped in a pair of scores for the Cardinals, who vividly remember last season’s heartbreaking 36-35 loss against Schurr.

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